


Burn for You

by orphan_account



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: (get it), (haha because they're in a fire), (light angst), M/M, Rated teen for language, Some angst?, and Michael and Jere get caught in the fire at the house party, au where everything is slightly different, boyf riends — Freeform, if you call getting stuck in a fire ansgt, light angst?, mainly fluff, script referenced pretty often
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 01:19:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12048330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jeremy and Michael get caught in the fire at Jake's Halloween party and have to work out some things in their friendship.





	Burn for You

**Author's Note:**

> Two things before we dive in  
> 1\. Please tell me if I make grammatical errors. I will love you forever if you do bc it means I get a chance to fix them!  
> 2\. Comments are cool  
> That's it enjoy

"Jeremiah Here, I know you're not having sex in my parents bed, because I'd you _were_ , I would have to rip your balls off." Jake Dillinger snarled through the door, the venom in his voice obvious and _holy crap_ it was frightening. Jeremy swallowed dryly and tried his best to pipe out an answer.

"We're not, I swear- Chloe, would you get _off me?_ I came to this party with Brooke!" His legs were frozen stiff to the bed. He could only wince as Chloe walked her fingers up his arm, grabbing his thigh with her other hand. _Nope_ _nope_ _nope_ _nope-_

There were a couple of loud thuds against the door, and then it swung open, the handle broken off. Jake stumbled in, looking like Jeremy had killed his cat or something. Jake may have been kinda skinny, but he was tall, and very intimidating when he was angry. And right now, he was furious. Whatever bad vibes Jake had left over from his breakup with Chloe were bubbling up right now.

Chloe, however, looked barely annoyed.

"Go away! We're busy SCREWING!" She pushed Jeremy down against the mattress, her weird baby bottle flask pushing painfully into his ribs. Jeremy tried to fight it, but he still couldn't move. He scrunched up his face and tried to send a mental sos to the Squip.

_Get me out of here!!_

The Squip materialized behind him, looking altogether too calm considering the situation. Jeremy did his best to think-speak him what was going on.

 _-and I can't move my legs at all. Something must be malfunctioning._ The Squip looked at him coldly, and the grinned.

 _But of course Jeremy. How else would I ensure that tonight went as planned?_ The Squip still hadn't moved. Chloe was still on top of him, but her torso was twisted around, and she and Jake were having a shouting match at each other.

Jeremy choked and sat up, almost knocking off Chloe. She didn't seem to notice. She was too busy yelling at Jake about how he'd never appreciated their relationship. _Bu- wha- you're doing this?_ The Squip walked over to him, and with the ease of a pro wrestler, pushed him back down onto the mattress with one finger.

 _What are you doing?_ Jeremy's whole body was frozen now. Chloe pushed him away and stood up, thank god, practically screeching at Jake now. Jeremy was sure the whole party could hear. He tried to focus on the ugly wallpaper.

 _You wanted the upgrade. Now take it. This is an essential step to getting Christine to like you._ The Squip stared condescendingly down at him. Jeremy glared from his plank position on the bed.

Suddenly, Jake and Chloe stopped their bickering. There was a commotion downstairs. The music switched off, and Jeremy could hear loud voices shouting over each other. Could he smell... smoke?

Jeremy's entire body unfroze with a jolt. The Squip changed demeanor completely, teleporting to his side in a flash.

 _Jeremy_ , _you_ _need_ _to_ _leave_ _this_ _party_ _immediatel_ \- before Jeremy could process what he was going to say, the Squip suddenly switched to rapid Japanese, and then flickered out of view.

Jeremy, too glad to be unfrozen to worry about what just happened, got off the bed, running to where Jake and Chloe had stopped arguing, listening.

"What's going on?" There was screaming outside now, and the weird smell was getting stronger. Jake opened his mouth to respond, but then-

"FIRE!" Someone yelled, and the noise downstairs increased to a clamor as people rushed for the exits. Jake's eyes widened. He grabbed Chloe and shoved her at the door.

"Hey!" She whined, but before she could say more, she saw the smoke leaking through the ventilation and the realization hit her. She was out the door faster than Jeremy could say "quantum unit processor", a remarkable feat considering the dramatic pumps she was wearing. Jeremy felt two hands shove into his back, and he too stumbled towards the door, the panic in his chest swelling.

"You make sure everyone made it out. I'll call 911." Jake went into action mode, slipping down the stairs as quickly as Chloe did, leaving Jeremy blinking in confusion in the doorway.

 _Fuck. Now what_.

Jeremy glanced around the upstairs. The bedroom doors were open and the lights were off, so he assumed no one was in them. He followed Jake down the stairs cautiously, coughing as the smoke thickened.

His eyes watering, he scanned the party area. Red solo cups were strewn here and there, and sticky puddles of beer were soaking into the carpet. Cleanup, however, would be the worst of Jake's problems. There was a steady stream of smoke emitting from the second floor office. Jeremy ran in the opposite direction, trying to see through the smoke.

Partygoers were surging out the front door, shoving and shouting. Figuring he couldn't go that way, he made for the back door, knocking a couple of bar stools aside. He made it to the sliding glass door and was about to unlock it when he glanced to his left.

The door of the downstairs bathroom was closed and locked, and there was a light coming from the crack. Jeremy chewed on his lip, conflicted. The smoke thickened.

Shaking his head at his own stupidity, he made for the bathroom door. When he reached it, he pounded as loudly as he could with both fists, yelling.

"Hey! There's a fire! Whoever is in there, you need to get out now!" His warning had no affect. The door remained closed. Jeremy was starting to worry now- the smoke was getting harder to see through and he knew he needed to get out, but what if someone died in there? Wouldn't it be his fault?

His thoughts were interrupted by the door swinging open, light pouring out. He darted inside, shutting the door behind them to buy some time away from the smoke. He wiped his watering eyes and glanced up at the person in front of him. It was hard to tell due to their chewbaka mask, but they looked familiar.

"Jeremy?" Came a muffled voice from under the mask. Jeremy smiled. Now he knew who it was.

"I didn't know you were invited to this party" Jeremy joked as Micheal pulled off his mask. His friend was grinning ear to ear.

"I wasn't. That's why I'm wearing this clever disguise." Jeremy stared at him blankly, taking him in, relief flooding through him as he remember how he was considering leaving whoever was in the bathroom behind. He was so glad he didn't.

"You're speechless. Squip got your tongue?" Michael smirked, holding his "disguise" under his arm and leaning up casually against the wall.

Jeremy shook his head. "It's... off." Michael frowned, looking upset.

"That would explain why you're talking to me." There was a beat as Jeremy recalled the times he had ignored him in the past week. He assumed Michael was doing the same. His friend opened his mouth again.

"I've been thinking about this moment. Like, what I would say to you? I had this really pissed of monologue, and epic journey through twelve years of friendship, but I- what?"

Jeremy could feel himself grinning stupidly. He shook his head.

"I'm just really glad too see you man." Michael's face softened. Jeremy went to say something else, but then a whip of smoke caught his eye. _Oh god- the fire._

Michael must have caught on to the fact that something was amiss through Jeremy's change of face.

"What's up? Are you ok?" He rested his hand on Jeremy's forearm, concern knitting his brows together.

"Dude, there's a fire, we have to leave-"

Jeremy turned back towards the door, grabbing the handle.

"OW! HEY!" He yanked back his singed hand. The door handle was red hot. Both he and Michael realized the gravity of the moment at the same time.

Quick as a flash, Michael started soaking hand towels under the tap and shoving them into the crack beneath the door.

"I read somewhere that this helps slow the progression of the flames. Whatever you do, don't open that door. The handle's hot because there's a fire behind it." Jeremy reached into his pocket for his phone. He was at 12% battery. _Great._

Dialing 911, he paced nervously. The receiver rang once. Twice. There was a click as the operator answered the line.

"911 what is your emergency." Jeremy swallowed the lump in his throat.

"We- uh- my friend and I are trapped in a bathroom. The house is on fire and the door handle is really hot, we can't get out. We're at 73 Oakwood in Mountain Heights right now. It's starting to get really hot in here." He felt useless. He hoped he gave the right information. Was he forgetting something?

"Understood. We'll be over as soon as we can. Is anyone currently injured?" Jeremy was about to say no, but the skin of his right palm objected.

"Yeah, I burnt my palm on the doorknob and I inhaled kind of a lot of smoke trying to get to my friend. We're mostly ok though." The operator exchanged a few words along the lines of "stay calm and don't open the door" and hung up. Jeremy was left staring at the screen of his phone, which was getting dimmer as smoke filled the room.

Michael had finished stuffing the towels, and now he yanked Jeremy down onto the floor next to him. They backed into the corner of the bathroom and stayed low, avoiding the smoke. Michael didn't let go of Jeremy's hand.

They stayed like that for a while, not speaking as the room got hotter. Jeremy had fleeting thoughts, wondering if they would die like this, but he pushed them away with a sickening feeling in his gut. He gripped Michael's hand tighter.

"What if we don't make it out of here." Jeremy voiced his thoughts, staring at the door waiting for the firemen to burst in.

Michael turned to him, his glasses askew. "Don't think like that."

"But what if we don't. What if we die here, and they find our corpses all singed up against the bathtub." Jeremy was starting to panic for real. He could feel a cold sweat running down his back.

Michael squeezed his hand and grinned. "Then I hope we get a double funeral." Jeremy almost laughed. What did he do to deserve Michael? Guilt hit him, like a punch to the gut.

"Michael, I'm sorry I treated you like shit for the past week," he burst out. "The Squip had some kind of weird brain thing going on where it would block you from my vision, like literally erase you. And I was being shitty too, because I let it." He swallowed, trying to work up the courage to end the speech.

"I don't know man. I guess what I'm trying to say is... we've been friends for, like, forever,"

"Twelve years." Michael corrected, coughing on the smoke.

"Right, twelve years. Anyway, I shouldn't have let the Squip take that away from me. I was so focused on what wanted I forgot what I already had." He finished in a rush, trying to push down the embarrassed feeling that was making its way up his neck. Gghhh, what was up with him.

Michael grinned, actually grinned, even though they were trapped in a burning house and smoke was everywhere and they might actually die.

"That's all that I needed to hear." He moved closer, and Jeremy couldn't tell if the swirling around Michael's face was because of the smoke or just his own vision swimming.

Crack

A long, jagged splinter ran down the ceiling, and little pebbles of plaster rained down on the both of them. Michael threw his arms out, shielding Jeremy.

"Jere-"

"Yeah?"

"If we don't make it out of here, I want you to know-" more debris rained from the ceiling. Michael coughed into his fist.

"Michael?" Jeremy said worriedly, brushing dust off his best friend's shoulder. Everything was moving too fast. His vision was beginning to blur now. He could tell he was going to pass out. He collapsed against his friend's side. Michael's voice was cutting out through the ringing of his ears.

"- eremy, - tell you - in case we don't-"

Jeremy's vision was closing in. It was like looking through a tunnel. Michael's voice seemed very far away.

"I love you." Jeremy's eyes slipped shut, and the last thing he remembered was men in bright red suits forcing open the door and carrying them out through the swirling smoke.

______________________

  
Jeremy awoke in a bright room. It was white and clean, and a window was open, letting in the breeze. He could hear birdsong.

"Am I dead?" he said out loud, not to anyone in particular. Surprisingly, he got an answer.

"Nah man, but after you eat the food they give you, you'll wish you were. I've had better soup at a homeless shelter." said a lispy voice.

Jeremy glanced to his left, startled. On the other side of the room, separated by a curtain that was drawn back, he saw Rich. _Oh. I'm in a hospital._ He sat up with a jolt.

"Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow- why do I feel like- wait, where's my Squip?" He rubbed his temples, trying to conjure up his best mental image of glowy-blue-matrix-Keanu-Reeves. Nothing.

"I don't know. Ask your buddy. You know, anti social headphones kid? He's been by a lot, by the way. Is he your boyfriend or something? No judgement-" he puffed out his chest, with the air of a king reciting a decree, "- I've recently come to terms with the fact that I'm bi." Jeremy reddened. It was probably the worst time for Michael go strut into the room, which he did.

"I'm sure someone will be lucky to have you Rich." Michael said sardonically, shutting the curtain on the indignant looking boy. 

"Michael!" Jeremy almost shouted, and he jumped up even further forward in bed. Michael rushed over and wrapped him up in a super-soft hug.

Michael looked good. Like, not burnt to a crisp good. Maybe he'd just showered? (His hear looked really soft), and he only smelled a little like smore. He was grinning down at Jeremy with a renewed confidence. Jeremy shook his head, trying to make it look like he wasn't staring. He pulled back from the hug, and Michael sat back on the foot of his bed, grinning ear to ear.

"Are you ok? The nurses said you passed out from smoke inhalation. You've been out all night."

Rich piped up from behind the curtain. "He should know, he's been in and out for hours. Sometimes he'd just pace for ages, it got so annoying." Michael reddened a little.

"Rich, I will find a way to transfer you to Jenna's room if you don't shut up. My mom's a nurse here, she can make it happen."

"Alright, alright. Yeesh."

Michael and Jeremy were left staring at each other in silence. Jeremy felt like a wreck- he still smelled like smoke, his throat was raw, and he was in a _hospital_ _gown_ for gods sake. Michael, on the other hand, reminded Jeremy of one of those yoghurt commercial ladies. Glowing, and happy, and good looking.

"Hey, what was that thing you said before the firemen arrived?" Jeremy croaked out before he lost his nerve. Why did his voice have to crack _now_? Michael went beet red.

"Uh.. before you passed out?"

"Yeah, right before I passed out." The silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Jeremy could feel how red he was. He probably looked like a tomato. A tomato in a hospital gown.

"If you two kiss I'm summoning the nurse."

"Rich!" Michael whipped around at the curtain, bristling. "Don't do that!"

"Never mind-" interjected Jeremy, trying awkwardly to lighten the mood. "You don't want to kiss me right now anyway, my hair is way greasy and I smell like a bonfire." Michael frowned down at him.

"What are you talking about? You look great- like, really great- I mean- dammit. Come here."

He grabbed the front of Jeremy's shirt and pulled him forwards, and suddenly they were kissing. Jeremy remembered to shut his eyes just in time, and automatically reached his arms around Michael, pulling him closer. One hand traveled up his back to tangle in his hair. They held for a few perfect seconds. A warm feeling was blooming in Jeremy's chest, and he felt like his heart was trying to escape from his rib cage. They broke apart and stared at each other. A moment passed. Michael coughed.

"Do you wanna go get lunch or something at the food court after the nurses release you?" Michael said awkwardly. Jeremy broke into a grin.

"Do they sell slushes at the food court?"

"Yeah. Red and blue."

"Then I'm down for sure." They smiled at each other stupidly. Too late, Jeremy remembered that Rich could hear everything.

"Eyy, congrats! You two dinglords finally fessed up. I'll admit, me and Jake had a bet going that he won, so if you could have put off your confessions until senior year that would have been nice."

Michael stood up and yanked back the divider curtain.

"Rich, you're lucky you're a burn patient, because if you weren't, I would skin you right now."

**Author's Note:**

> comments are my favorite thing ever bless me with your kind words it's incentive to write more fics


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